Love Lives On Act of 2023
Latest action · Apr 16, 2024 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 24, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Love Lives On Act of 2023
This bill extends entitlement for various benefit programs and services for surviving spouses of deceased members of the Armed Forces or veterans.
First, the bill removes the expiration on a surviving spouses' entitlement to educational assistance through the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship).
The bill also provides that the remarriage of a surviving spouse must not bar the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation to such spouse.
Next, the Department of Defense may not terminate the payment of an annuity for a surviving spouse under the Survivor Benefit Plan solely because the surviving spouse remarries.
Additionally, the bill provides commissary store and MWR retail facility (e.g., exchange store) access to surviving spouses regardless of the martial status of the spouse. Such spouses must be entitled to use such stores and facilities to the same extent and on the same basis as surviving spouses who did not remarry.
The bill expands the definition of a dependent under TRICARE to include a remarried widow or widower whose subsequent marriage has ended due to death, divorce, or annulment.
Finally, the bill modifies the definition of a surviving spouse for purposes of veterans benefits to include same sex marriages.
Cosponsors 84
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 24, 2023 to Nov 13, 2024; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| R-CA | Mike Garcia | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| D-CO | Yadira Caraveo | Jun 27, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Jul 6, 2023 | |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-CO | Brittany Pettersen | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-MI | Daniel T. Kildee | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Aug 29, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Nikki Budzinski | Aug 29, 2023 | |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-NY | Joseph D. Morelle | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-FL | Maxwell Frost | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-NC | Deborah K. Ross | Sep 27, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Richard E. Neal | Sep 27, 2023 | |
| D-NC | Wiley Nickel | Oct 2, 2023 | |
| D-NH | Chris Pappas | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-PA | Christopher R. Deluzio | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| D-KS | Sharice Davids | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| R-TX | August Pfluger | Oct 11, 2023 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Oct 16, 2023 | |
| D-HI | Jill N. Tokuda | Oct 16, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Oct 16, 2023 | |
| D-NC | Kathy E. Manning | Oct 16, 2023 | |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Nov 1, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Nov 28, 2023 | |
| R-WI | Derrick Van Orden | Nov 28, 2023 | |
| D-RI | Seth Magaziner | Dec 11, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Jan 10, 2024 | |
| R-KS | Tracey Mann | Jan 10, 2024 | |
| D-AK | Mary Sattler Peltola | Jan 31, 2024 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Feb 23, 2024 | |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Feb 23, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Josh Harder | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| R-IN | Jim Banks | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Mike Levin | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| D-KY | Morgan McGarvey | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Apr 5, 2024 | |
| D-OH | Greg Landsman | Apr 11, 2024 | |
| R-TX | Morgan Luttrell | Apr 11, 2024 | |
| R-FL | Gus M. Bilirakis | Jun 3, 2024 | |
| R-VA | Jennifer A. Kiggans | Jun 3, 2024 | |
| R-LA | Garret Graves | Jun 12, 2024 | |
| R-NC | David Rouzer | Jul 2, 2024 | |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Jul 30, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Aug 20, 2024 | |
| R-OH | David P. Joyce | Sep 3, 2024 | |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Sep 19, 2024 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Sep 24, 2024 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Sep 24, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Sep 24, 2024 | |
| R-KY | Thomas Massie | Sep 24, 2024 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-IL | Eric Sorensen | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-NV | Steven Horsford | Sep 25, 2024 | |
| D-OR | Andrea Salinas | Sep 27, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Sep 27, 2024 | |
| R-MT | Ryan K. Zinke | Sep 27, 2024 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Oct 1, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Norma J. Torres | Oct 1, 2024 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Oct 11, 2024 | |
| D-CT | John B. Larson | Oct 11, 2024 | |
| R-MI | John James | Oct 11, 2024 | |
| R-OR | Lori Chavez-DeRemer | Oct 11, 2024 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Nov 1, 2024 | |
| D-RI | Gabe Amo | Nov 1, 2024 | |
| R-IN | Larry Bucshon | Nov 1, 2024 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Nov 13, 2024 | |
| D-IN | Frank J. Mrvan | Nov 13, 2024 | |
| R-NJ | Thomas H. Kean, Jr. | Nov 13, 2024 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Armed Services Committee | Referred May 24, 2023 |
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred May 24, 2023 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Jun 29, 2023Hearings Apr 10, 2024Markup Apr 16, 2024Reported Apr 16, 2024 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 16, 2024Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 16, 2024Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
- Apr 10, 2024Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Jun 29, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- May 24, 2023Introduced in House
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 88, May 24, 2023, page H2598.
Printed hearings 3
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 118-84 | EVERYDAY HEROES: SUPPORTING THE VETERAN CAREGIVER COMMUNITY116 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Serial No. 118-60 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 1083; H.R. 2911; H.R. 3651; H.R. 7100; H.R. 7150; H.R. 7777; H.R. 7793; H.R. 7816; H.R. XXXX; H.R. XXXX; H.R. XXXX; AND H.R. XXXX,180 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 10, 2024 |
| Serial No. 118-48 | THE ONE PERCENT: SUPPORTING AMERICA'S SURVIVING MILITARY FAMILY COMMUNITY104 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Jan 30, 2024 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1266 | Love Lives On Act of 2023 | Identical bill | Apr 25, 2023 |
| HR 9287 | Love Lives On Act of 2022 | Reintroduction of | Nov 10, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for surviving spouses, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Love Lives On Act of 2023
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 24, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
